I received a letter from one of our regular readers last week, in which she said in part, “I look forward daily to reading your Commentary in the Doppler. I can always count on it being an entertaining, interesting, annoying, and informative (as well as well-informed) opinion – those are the basics of a decent commentary!”
I appreciate that, especially the annoying part. It is true that we do try to stir things up now and then because it fosters good debate, resulting in attention to important issues that affect us, especially in this day and age when Canada is facing so many critical challenges.
I may fall more into the “annoying” category today because I have some positive thoughts about our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and about the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. (I have no positive comments about Trump himself)
In my view, after close to 10 years on the job, Justin Trudeau has never appeared as Prime Ministerial as he has in the last week or so, knowing full well that his time in that office is almost up.
On the eve of what was believed to be the imposition of staggering tariffs by the United States, Trudeau gave an address to the nation that was befitting of a national leader. It was bold and specific about how Canada would respond to economic warfare from the United States. It was a strong plea for Canadian unity and a direct message to the President of the United States that Canada’s sovereignty was not to be messed with.
Later, the Prime Minister, in a telephone discussion with President Trump, even though disliked by Trump, managed to get a reprieve of 30 days from the imposition of tariffs, a small win perhaps, but one that gives Canada some breathing space to develop further strategies aimed at ducking the tariffs that Trump has threatened.
Also, Justin Trudeau has put the lie to those who believe that Donald Trump’s threat to annex Canada was just a joke or a negotiating tactic, telling a group of businesspeople, fresh off his call with Trump, that the President’s desire to make Canada the 51st State is a genuine threat as he eyes Canada’s plentiful natural resources.
Today, the Prime Minister is in Europe, strengthening Canada’s relationship with The United Kingdom, France, Germany, and other EU leaders, discussing both trade and security. A bit late, perhaps, but still the right thing to do.
There is no question that Justin Trudeau is well past his best-before date. Nevertheless, his actions in standing up for Canada on his way out the door deserve respect and credit.
As for the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, I have come to realize that if we believe in democracy, we must accept the reality that he was elected by most voters in the United States. This is likely because Americans were fed up with both illegal immigration and massive government waste, each a key issue in Donald Trump’s campaign platform.
Many Americans, in my view, voted for Trump because they felt he was listening to their concerns and was moving the country from the far left. To achieve this, they were willing to overlook his very checkered past. Whether they are worried about the pace and legality of what is taking place in that country right now, only the people who voted for Donald Trump can answer that. It is really none of our business.
What is very much our business, however, are Donald Trump’s threats against Canada’s economy and sovereignty. They must be taken seriously.
With barely three weeks in office, Trump has not only threatened Canada, but he has also cast covetous eyes on Greenland, the Panama Canal, the Arctic, and most lately, the Gaza Strip. None of this was on Donald Trump’s public agenda prior to the election, and he has no electoral mandate to pursue his territorial objectives.
But that doesn’t matter. In his short time in office, Trump has already shown that he is prepared to circumvent the rule of law, the Constitution, and Congress. He has not condemned the territorial ambitions of either China or Russia, and he has clearly not ruled them out for himself.
Therefore, the time has come for Canadians to take Trump’s territorial threat very seriously. In terms of his stated ambitions, we are likely at the top of the list not only because we are next door but also because it is the easiest way for America to become “much bigger” (Trump’s words), and it provides unfettered access to Canada’s water, oil, gas and other natural resources without having to pay for them.
Very disturbing is Donald Trump’s referral to a 1908 Agreement between England and the United States that set the borders between Canada and the United States. Trump told Justin Trudeau that he had read it, and it was “very interesting.”
I haven’t read that agreement yet, but it seems clear that Trump has found in it something he can use in a quest against Canada. That is a common tactic of despots throughout the ages to find some past agreement or treaty or perceived threat as an excuse to expand their territory. It happened in 1939. It happened in Ukraine much more recently, and it can happen again.
In many ways, what is happening between Canada and the United States is a tragedy, no matter how it finally turns out. It is hard to imagine that we will ever have as close a relationship with them again. As a country, we have not only lost our best friend, but that friend has also turned against us. I simply find it impossible to believe that most American citizens are okay with that.
As that reality sinks in, however, there is much that Canada needs to do. We need to rely less on the United States. As Canadians, we need to buy made-in-Canada goods wherever possible and avoid, when we can, purchasing American products. We need to do away with inter-provincial trade barriers. We need to have Canadian ships in the Arctic Ocean NOW and be completely unified in our defence of Canada’s sovereignty.
Our federal government, both now and after the election, needs to urgently find new markets for our products and enter into new trade agreements. We need to strengthen our relationship with allies and make sure they are with us if our sovereignty is threatened. And as controversial as it may be, we also need a West/East pipeline in Canada for oil as well as a Canadian refinery.
We need to also listen to some of the concerns that Donald Trump has raised. We must tighten our borders, stop making it easy for illegal immigrants, and, very importantly for our national security, do whatever needs to be done to bring our commitment to NATO to the required level of 2% of our GDP.
This is all real stuff that is developing now, not something we just talk about or shove aside as conspiracy talk or put off for another time. Canada must develop new relationships now and stand on its own two feet in dealing with the United States. We put our heads in the sand at our peril.
Canada is strong and proud. We have proven it many times over more than one century, and we can prove it again.
We are at the point, however, that we must make it abundantly clear to President Trump and his MAGA followers that Canada is not for the taking.
Hugh Mackenzie
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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I always look forward to reading your commentary articles, Hugh, and this one in particular hit the nail-on-the-head!
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